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Annual range management meeting set Oct. 8

Sep 23, 2009

The Kansas and Oklahoma sections of the Society for Range Management (SRM) will host their joint 2009 annual meeting Wednesday, Oct. 7, and Thursday, Oct. 8, in Alva, Okla.

Sponsored by The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, the two-day meeting will kick off at the Northwest Technology Center (located at 1801 S. 11th in Alva) with registration from 8 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. Morning presentations will include an overview of the Red Hills area, remote sensing to estimate production in tallgrass prairie, modeling invasion patterns of red cedar and biocontrol of salt cedar using goats.

The afternoon session will feature a chartered bus tour of two ranches in Barber and Comanche County, Kansas followed by dinner and the annual SRM service and excellence in rangeland management awards. Executive Vice President Ken Johnson will present the State of the Society address that evening and researcher, Greg Mantz, will discuss the use of polyethylene glycol to enhance the intake of sericea lespedeza by cattle. The evening will conclude with an informative talk on the history of Alva and the Comanche Pool by local historian Anthony Lovelace.

The second day of events will begin with tours of Alabaster Caverns State Park and the Cargill Salt Works facility. Following lunch, the meeting will conclude with a ranch tour in Woods County, Okla. The meeting will conclude at 3 p.m. on Thursday.

“The annual meeting illustrates the careful land stewardship and management happening in Oklahoma and Kansas,” Chan Glidewell, president of the Oklahoma Section of the SRM said. “The annual meeting is a chance for professionals from across two states to come together and learn about a specific area and learn from each other.”

Doug Spencer, president of the Kansas Section of the SRM, shares similar views of the meeting: “It really is an opportunity to network, gain expertise, and view the benefits of effective rangeland management. To have two states holding a joint meeting only expands those opportunities.”

Early registration for the annual meeting costs $50 for both days which includes three meals and the charter bus tour. Transportation will be available for participants who do not wish to use their vehicles during the farm tours.